My house sparkles, beds are made, dishes are washed, laundry is folded neatly and put away. There are no cobwebs or dust bunnies, no knicks in the baseboards, no leaking taps, loose toilet seats or 'junk' to be found under the kitchen sink. Towels match the paint that matches the tiles, that matches the flooring and makes it look like we planned it that way. Children's rooms are pristine and smell like fresh summer breezes and ocean mist not hockey bags and school lockers. I can look in the mirror and see me reflection not a week's worth of tooth brushing spittle. That refection, by the way, scared the begeebers out of me earlier this week. I've been so busy and intent on getting this house ready for sale that I clearly have let some things go, namely my eyebrows! (there's 45 minutes of my life I'm never going to get back)
Couple the house preparations with the first weeks of school, hockey tryouts and my 9-5....I am exhausted! and I feel deep sorrow for grown-ups everywhere who try to maintain this level of perfection on a daily basis. Who are you kidding? People are not meant to live under such expectations. My current pace is fuelled only by the knowledge that the situation bears no threat of permanence. It won't be long and we will be back to letting the grass grow and the laundry pile up. There will be toothpaste in the sink and shoes scattered at the front door. Kids will neglect to make their beds or put their dishes in the dishwasher and I will not read the riot act over their transgressions. We will leave the kitchen a mess in favour of walking for after dinner ice cream and I suspect that the dining room table will be slowly buried under 'stuff' again in no time.
For now the house is ready for the world to view, the For Sale sign adorns the front lawn and the open houses are in full swing. We spent a lot of extra time preparing and 'staging' the house in hopes that we will shave time off the selling end and return to normal sooner than later. Sooner, sooner, sooner please!!!! Before Mike gets attached to a clean, uncluttered home that smells like gardenias and Mr. Clean. Sooner please before I get ambushed in the mall by one of those emergency make-over teams. Sooner please before the novelty of bribing the kids with surprises of chocolate, stickers and movie tickets in recognition of their bed making, dishwasher using and general tidiness wears off. Sooner please before I turn into the loud mouthed woman in the grocery store checkout line spouting off about the customer the cashier ratio. I don't want to become that person, I can't become that person. Sooner please so that we can return to writing, motorcycle riding, movie watching, game playing, sitting on the deck with a glass of wine a grilled steak and some great friends time.
It will happen. In the meantime there is much gratitude today for the reminder that life is a thing to be enjoyed. That family life is a thing to be created not just lived. Gratitude for the reminder that in the pursuit of 'doing it all' a great many things get over-looked. Gratitude for the temporary nature of our circumstances and the co-operation of all parties involved as we create a life with more time and freedom for 'enjoying' it.
Gratitude, Hope & Smiles are meant to be shared, Have a great weekend!
Michelle
